Walmart reports better-than-expected earnings, despite sales slide
Filed under: Company News, Earnings, Wal-Mart Stores
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) reported a 3.2 percent increase in third-quarter profit, helped by inventory controls and other cost-cutting measures.But a key sales indicator slipped, and the discount-store chain expects sales weakness through the critical fourth quarter, fueling more worries about a broad weakness in consumer spending.
The discounter, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Thursday reported a profit of $3.24 billion, or 84 cents per share, for the period ended Oct. 31. That compares with $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose to $99.4 billion from $98.3 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 81 cents per share on revenue of $99.9 billion.
But the company said that sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.4 percent in the period, marking the second consecutive quarter that it saw this important measure fall. Sales at stores open at least a year are considered a key measure of a retailer's health because they exclude the effects of expansion.
Excluding fuel sales, the company's namesake discount stores saw sales at stores open at least a year fall 0.5 percent, while Sam's Club saw sales rise 0.1 percent.
The slippage is happening even as the discounter takes market share away from its rivals with its aggressive discounting.
"The sales environment continues to be difficult this quarter, but customer traffic is up throughout the company," President and CEO Mike Duke said in a statement. "We gained market share, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico."
Wal-Mart said it expects that earnings per share in the fourth quarter to be in the range of $1.08 and $1.12 per share. Analysts expect $1.12 per share for the period.
As a result, the company is raising its guidance for the full fiscal year to $3.57 to $3.61 per share, from $3.50 to $3.60 per share. Analysts expect $3.58 per share.
The company said that it expects sales at stores open at least a year for the fourth quarter to be in a range of a decline of 1 percent to up 1 percent.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-12-2009 @ 9:58AM
Bob said...
Great news! Walmart sells 99% Chinese made goods and uses illegals to clean the stores at night. How long do you think that this can go on before we totally collapse as a society.
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11-12-2009 @ 10:01AM
Brad said...
Real AMERICANS don't shop at Wal-mart because they care about their fellow Americans. They want jobs here in the U.S. and not sending our money to China. And don't say that Wal-Mart creates jobs... that's a joke. The average person cannot exist on what that communist organization pays their overworked employees.
Choose anywhere but Wal-Mart, if you believe in America.
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11-12-2009 @ 10:28AM
david said...
i work at walmart they dont treat there pepple very good its a very hard place to work for all there selling is junk from china.china owans walmart now not the waltonsi work there but i dont shop there i soon go to k-mart so dont bleve anything walmart says
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11-12-2009 @ 10:35AM
disgusted worker said...
many of the grungiest people i've seen, shop at walmart. not saying all who shop there are gross.
walmart takes away thanksgiving from it's employees by making them work all day thanksgiving and black friday. they don't care that you have a family, they don't care you may have to cook, they don't care that you may have people coming in from out of town, they want you to work and work long shifts so they can make more billions and no more thanksgiving the american holiday. it's now up to you, the american public to boycott all stores on thanksgiving, so these people can be home w/their families enjoying the american holiday, the american tradition we americans so deserve. if they want to keep their stores open, use the non-american workers they have to run the show that day.
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11-12-2009 @ 11:24AM
CONCERNED said...
GREAT WALMART IS DOING GREAT AT SELLING CHINES GARBAGE THAT ARE PAYING FOR WEAPONS THAT WILL KILL AMERICANS.
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11-12-2009 @ 12:53PM
larry said...
WALLMART another good solid ReepubliClown familly run organization...............................
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11-12-2009 @ 1:22PM
Louis Peregino said...
I'm 61, shop almost exclusively at Walmart, and never considered myself grungy. I shop at Walmart because I get the most for my money, and that allows me to stay out of the ranks of the homeless. How many of you complainers drive toyotas, nissans, or kias? How many have sony, smasung, toshiba etc products? The problem you are complaining about didn't happen yesterday, it's been going on for decades fueled by materialistic greed and citizen apathy. Walmart is the best friend lower income people have right now. Walmart's profit margins are miniscule compared to the oil industry, the banking industry, and the utiliy industry. If you think crucifying Walmat will improve our lot in life, you are naive. Our problems lie in our leadership, both Federal & State. There is more corruption in our government today than at any time since the Grant administration. The Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations have sold us all out to special interists; oil, financial, utility, union, environmental, etc. Now the current governments are trying to tax and spend us back into properity. Lots of luck with that. When your IRA is gone like mine, when you are unemployed or self employed like me scraping for an income, when you have returned to basics living on whatever income you earn this month.... see you at Walmart.
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11-13-2009 @ 7:47PM
mitchell said...
Every thing is not cheat at Wal Mart, their Aniti frezze is $2 more than bi- Mart,
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